


pen pals

by mothanti



Category: Diary of a Future President (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Cartero, M/M, friends to enemies to loverspen pals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:53:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28101957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothanti/pseuds/mothanti
Summary: a random pen pal assignment leaves ex-friends bobby and liam struggling to understand where they stand with each other.
Relationships: Bobby Cañero-Reed & Danny Martinez & Ziggy Ziegbauer, Bobby Cañero-Reed & Elena Cañero-Reed, Bobby Cañero-Reed/Liam Carter
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	pen pals

**Author's Note:**

> dates will be important so they are noted at the beginning of each section  
> bobby and liam are 14 during chapter one, but are 17 for the rest of the fic  
> includes my personal headcanons for bobby’s(he/they), liam’s(he/they), and ziggy’s(they/them) pronouns

{september 17th, 2017, 4:13 pm}  
bobby tapped his phone screen, smiling as his phone started blaring wallows music. he walked over to his bed, and sat down on it, turning to look at liam who was sitting next to him.   
“so, how was school today?” liam scooted over to bobby, leaning his head on his shoulder.   
“it sucks. you’re basically my only friend, i hate not having you there with me,” bobby said, grabbing liam’s hand. though this was common, as they generally were more affectionate than most fourteen year old boys, something felt off.   
liam sighed, “i know, i hate it too. i don’t know why my parents thought it would be a good idea to move me to a different school right before eighth grade. i miss you so much b.”  
bobby felt a flutter in his heart, but he just closed his eyes and tried to ignore it, “have you at least made any new friends? are they better than me?”  
“oh yeah, they are just so cool and awesome. their names are cooler bobby and awesomer bobby.” liam laughed, elbowing bobby’s side.  
bobby yelped as though he was in pain, following it with a laugh, “ow, my pride!” he put his hand on his chest, feigning sadness.   
liam smiled and squeezed bobby’s hand, “i’m kidding! no one could ever be better than you.”   
bobby blushed, “you’re just saying that.” he playfully punched liam’s shoulder.   
“hey! am not! you really are my favorite person,” liam said, looking at bobby with a soft smile.   
bobby returned the gesture, looking into bobby’s eyes, ‘gosh he’s so cute.’ bobby’s eyes widened and he looked away from liam, a heavy blush covering his face.   
“what’s wrong tomato-boy? whatcha thinking about?” liam asked teasingly, not understanding the fear growing in bobby.   
‘if only you knew.’ bobby glanced back up at him, his breath growing shaky, “oh nothing... um actually, i think you should leave.”  
liam tilted his head like a sad puppy, “what, why? did i do something?” he squeezed bobby’s hand reassuringly.   
“no, no, i’m just not feeling good. i think i’m getting a fever.” bobby puts a hand to his forehead to convince liam of his fake illness, “yeah i feel warm.”  
liam smiled and leaned toward bobby, “i could stay and take care of you? i don’t want you to be all alone while you are sick bobby.”  
bobby shook his head, looking at the ground of his room, as he separated himself from liam, “no, i don’t want you to get sick. you should probably just go.”  
liam frowned as bobby pulled away from him, “bobby-”  
“go, liam!” bobby shouted, his emotions getting the best of him, “just... just go.”  
liam stood up sadly, “oh, okay.” he quickly gathered his backpack, and turned to bobby, “i’ll text you tomorrow, okay? i hope you feel better, love you b.”  
“love you too.” bobby was barely able to get the words out of his mouth. ‘platonic. platonic. platonic. platonic. it’s platonic bobby just friends nothing more.’  
liam walked out of the door, leaving bobby a mess in his room. once he heard the front door open and close, he finally broke.   
“fuck!” bobby yelled, flopping onto his bed. tears started to pour down his face as he realized what just happened, “i can’t... i’m not... he’s... god i hate this! why now?”   
bobby slowly sat up, adjusting himself so he was in a ball against his headboard. he whispered to himself, “why now?”   
{september 18th, 2017, 7:15 am}  
bobby hid under his blanket, desperately wanting to avoid the world that existed outside the heavy fabric he resided under. he heard his phone chime, and knew it was another text from liam. ‘how many is that? eighteen?’ he sat up, grabbing the device from his nightstand.   
“liam, i know you can’t hear me, but i’m so sorry.” bobby opened liams contact in his phone, his fingering hovering over a certain button. he took a deep breath, and as he exhaled, he pressed the block button. when the weight of his actions dawned on him, bobby turned off his phone, dropped in back on his nightstand, and pulled the blanket back over him, curling back into bed.   
not even ten seconds later, his hiding was interrupted, “bobby! you need to get up!” elena walked over to bobby’s bed, pulling the covers off him, “we have school, and you look as though you have just been laid to rest.”  
bobby smiles weakly, “doesn’t that make you a necromancer?”  
“big words for a c-average student,” elena teases, casually cleaning up the garbage around bobby’s room, “now before we get too far into this, you need to get dressed. i’ll leave, but if you aren’t out of this room in ten minutes i’m coming back with a spray bottle.”   
bobby gets out of bed, knowing that elena was being serious in her threats. he dressed in the most plain clothes he could find. standing out was the last thing he wanted today.   
the ride to school was relatively painless, leaving bobby hopeful for the day ahead.   
his hope was immediately dashed when he walked up to his friends and the first thing out of danny’s mouth was, “liam texted me this morning and said you blocked his number? what happened?”   
“fuck,” bobby muttered, looking at the ground, “um, i can’t exactly talk about that here.”  
“why? did liam do something?” danny replied.  
“no...” bobby kicked a small rock on the ground, hoping the conversation could end.   
“well then what do i tell him?” danny pulled his phone out of his pocket.  
bobby didn’t know what to say. ‘how do you explain blocking your best friend because you think you caught feelings for him without outing yourself as... who even knows what?’   
“earth to bobby?” danny said, growing impatient.   
“huh? oh um, just say that you don’t know. i really don’t feel like explaining this danny.” bobby spoke with increasing desperation, quickly walking away when he was done. danny didn’t follow him, he knew better than that. he just quickly typed out the message to liam and walked to his homeroom.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter @unsaidamity


End file.
